Nikola says zero emissions truck could revolutionize industry

The company announced Monday, Aug. 1 that it achieved “100 percent zero emissions” on its Nikola One commercial Class 8 truck.

“While other companies have recently announced battery-powered semi-trucks, those trucks are restricted to a range of only a couple hundred miles and four to eight hours of charging between stops,” Nikola founder and CEO Trevor Milton said in a news release. “Nikola has engineered the holy grail of the trucking industry. We are not aware of any zero emission truck in the world that can haul 80,000 pounds more than 1,000 miles and do it without stopping. The Nikola One requires only 15 minutes of downtime before heading out for the next 1,000 miles.”

In addition to zero emissions, Nikola claims the truck has zero idle, a range of 1,000 miles, a 100-percent electric drive that never has to be plugged in, a horsepower of 2,000, 15-minute refill time and regenerative braking.

Nikola also says it has initiated the first steps to manufacture emission-free power plants that range from 50 kilowatts to 50 megawatts, cutting power generation costs in half.

“Imagine what this could do for the air in every city in America,” Milton said. “We knew our emissions would be low, but to have the ability to achieve true zero emissions is revolutionary for the worldwide trucking industry.”

Nikola announced two months ago that it had more than $2.3 billion in reservations, totaling more than 7,000 truck reservations with deposits. The Nikola One truck leasing program costs $4,000-$5,000 per month, depending on which truck configuration and options the customer chooses. The first million miles of fuel under the lease is included with each truck sale.